Dell Plus 2-in-1 16" Business Midnight Blue 2026

The Dell Plus 2-in-1 is a business-focused laptop with a standout 32GB of RAM and Intel's latest AI-ready Core Ultra 9 chip. It's thin, light, and has a useful 2-in-1 design, but the 300-nit display and integrated graphics mean it's strictly for productivity. At $1,349, it's a solid value for multitaskers who don't need gaming power. Skip it if you need a GPU or a brighter screen.

The Core Ultra 9 288V is a fascinating chip. It's an 8-core part from Intel's latest Lunar Lake family, and it's designed to sip power while delivering strong single-threaded performance. In our database, the raw CPU score lands in the 68th percentile, which is solid but not chart-topping. For the kind of work this laptop is built for, Office apps, web browsing, and running business software, it absolutely flies. The 32GB of RAM, which sits in the 93rd percentile for this class of machine, is the real secret sauce. You can have a frankly irresponsible number of Chrome tabs open alongside Teams, Outlook, and a large Excel file without a hint of slowdown.

The integrated Intel Arc 140V graphics are a step up from the old UHD Graphics, but they're still integrated. The GPU score is in the 65th percentile, which means it's better than most thin-and-light laptops but gets absolutely dusted by anything with a discrete GPU. You can do some light 1080p gaming on low settings in older titles, but this is not a content creation machine. The 1TB SSD is quick, landing in the 81st percentile for storage speed, so apps load fast and files transfer without making you wait. The whole package feels responsive for productivity, which is exactly the point.

The elephant in the room is the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14. For around the same price, you can get a laptop with a dedicated RTX 4060 or 4070 GPU that will run circles around the Dell in any graphically intensive task. The trade-off is that the Zephyrus is heavier, has worse battery life, and lacks the 2-in-1 form factor. If you need any gaming or 3D rendering capability, the Dell is simply the wrong tool. The Lenovo Legion 5i is another gaming-focused alternative that offers far more GPU power for the dollar.

On the business side, the HP OMEN Transcend 14 is an interesting cross-shop. It also has a 14-inch display and a focus on AI, but it packs a discrete GPU, making it more versatile. The MSI Prestige 13 is a closer competitor in spirit, a thin, light, and professional-looking machine, but it typically comes with less RAM and a smaller screen. The Dell's 32GB of RAM and 2-in-1 hinge give it a clear edge for multitaskers who want tablet functionality. If you're deep in the Apple ecosystem, the MacBook Pro M4 Max is in a different stratosphere of performance and price, but for a pure business machine, the Dell's Windows 11 Pro and touchscreen might be more practical.

At $1,349, the Dell Plus 2-in-1 is priced like a premium business machine, and for the most part, it delivers. The 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD are generous at this price, and you'd pay significantly more for a similarly specced ThinkPad X1 Yoga or HP Spectre x360. The wildcard is the Core Ultra 9 288V. It's a brand-new chip, and you're paying a bit of an early adopter tax for those AI capabilities. Whether that's worth it depends entirely on how much you buy into Microsoft's Copilot+ vision.

Compared to the competition, this Dell undercuts the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max by a huge margin, but that's an apples-to-oranges comparison in terms of raw power. Against something like the MSI Prestige 13, which is also a thin-and-light business laptop, the Dell offers a larger screen and more RAM for a similar price. The value proposition is strong if you need a future-proofed Windows machine for office productivity and don't care about gaming or a stunning display.

Dell's Plus 2-in-1 Business laptop is an interesting beast. It's not trying to be a gaming rig or a creative powerhouse. Instead, it's aimed squarely at the person who lives in spreadsheets, video calls, and a dozen browser tabs, and wants a machine that can flip into a tablet for marking up documents or watching a presentation. The Intel Core Ultra 9 288V chip is the star here, packing a dedicated AI engine that's supposed to make Windows 11's new Copilot+ features feel snappy. We're talking about things like Recall and Click to Do, which are still in preview but hint at where laptops are heading.

At $1,349, you're getting a solid spec sheet: 32GB of fast LPDDR5X RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 14-inch touchscreen in a chassis that weighs just over three and a half pounds. The build feels premium with that silver aluminum finish, and at 0.67 inches thin, it's easy to toss in a bag. But there's a trade-off here, and it's one you'll feel in the display. That 300-nit, 60Hz panel is fine for office work, but it's not going to win any awards for brightness or smoothness. This is a business tool, not a media consumption dream machine.

Who's this actually for? If you're a road warrior who needs a Windows machine with all-day battery potential and a keyboard that won't make your fingers ache, this is a strong contender. The Wi-Fi 7 and Thunderbolt 4 support mean it's ready for the next few years of peripherals and networks. Just don't expect to fire up Cyberpunk 2077 on your lunch break. The integrated Intel Arc graphics are capable for light photo editing or very casual gaming, but our gaming score of 20.9 out of 100 tells you everything you need to know about its limits.

Gamers and creative professionals should steer clear. The integrated graphics are simply not up to the task of modern gaming or GPU-accelerated workloads. Our gaming score of 20.9 out of 100 is one of the lowest we've seen for a laptop at this price. You'd be much better served by an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 or a Lenovo Legion 5i, which sacrifice the 2-in-1 form factor but deliver massive gains in graphics performance.

Also, if you work outside a lot, the 300-nit display will be a constant frustration. It's just not bright enough for sunny conditions. Look for something with at least 400 nits, like a higher-end Dell XPS or a MacBook Air. And if you're on a tight budget, the $1,349 price tag is paying for that new AI engine and 32GB of RAM. A last-gen business laptop with 16GB of RAM could save you hundreds and still handle office work perfectly well.

For the office warrior who lives in Microsoft 365 and wants a laptop that can double as a tablet for note-taking or presentations, the Dell Plus 2-in-1 is a compelling package. The 32GB of RAM is a huge selling point, ensuring this machine will feel snappy for years. The AI features are a nice bonus, but don't buy it solely for Copilot+. Buy it because it's a well-built, portable 2-in-1 with a great keyboard and all the ports you need.

If your workflow includes any gaming, video editing, or 3D modeling, look elsewhere. The integrated graphics are a hard stop for those tasks. The display is also a letdown if you consume a lot of media or work outside. For pure productivity in a flexible form factor, though, this Dell hits a sweet spot. It's a business machine that understands its mission and executes it well, even if it doesn't dazzle with flashy specs.